Re: Star Trek: Beyond Thunderdome

Talking to Empire, director Justin Lin said, "This is the 50th anniversary. I felt like it was important to really deconstruct the idea of Star Trek, the idea of the Federation and why it’s special. We’ll really be poking at a lot of different things."

Not just because films like “Zoolander 2” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” fell flat at the box office. The venerable studio has been engulfed in the ongoing corporate fight over the future of its parent company, Viacom.

The company’s CEO Philippe Dauman is selling a minority stake in Paramount, a move that controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone, oppose. So things must be a little awkward on the lot.

But help, or at least a Starship Enterprise-sized distraction, is on the way. The studio is bringing “Star Trek Beyond” into theaters, launching the third film in the rebooted sci-fi series across 3,800 locations, including 391 Imax venues. The latest in the long-running franchise is expected to pull in a solid $55 million, with some analysts projecting it could hit $60 million.

That should be enough to top the weekend box office, but it is down from the $70.2 million launch of 2014’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” and the $75.2 million bow of 2009’s “Star Trek.” The latest voyage sees Justin Lin (“Fast & Furious 6”) take over the directing reins from J.J. Abrams, who is still a producer after helming the two previous films.

Paramount clearly believes that audiences are still eager to follow the Enterprise crew on more deep space adventures. It already announced a sequel, which will bring back Chris Hemsworth as Kirk’s father, and is backing a new television series.

“It’s definitely a bright spot for Paramount,” said Shawn Robbins, senior analyst at BoxOffice.com. “There’s still momentum left in the franchise.”

While Paramount has numerous Oscar nominations this year thanks to Fences and Arrival, the studio’s box office fortunes have been decidedly mixed, with Monster Trucks, Silence, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Rings among its recent flops. The studio also took a hefty write-down on Star Trek Beyond, and saw both Ben-Hur and Zoolander 2 underperform.